Spiritually Incorrect

The problem of evil has been a major theological and philosophical conundrum for millennia. Writers even before the time of Jesus were wrestling with the idea of why God (or the gods) would allow such pain and suffering in the world. Where is God in the midst of all this evil?Needless to say, Scripture is not silent on this issue. On this episode, we jump straight into this thorny issue with Dr. Matthew McBirth and look particularly at how St. Peter dealt with the issue in the Bible. In short, we have Peter, pain, and the problem that won't go away.For more exclusive content from our podcast, go to our Patreon page!

Is Christianity opposed to feminism? If you listen to many, the answer is a definitive yes. The church, they say, has suppressed women and women's rights for centuries, and it continues to be a force for misogyny in the world today. Women's rights and Christianity simply have not been allies.Yet here to give us a fresh perspective on the true relationship of feminism and the faith is Dr. Sarah Williams.To hear our post-discussion, be sure to join our Patreon!

Every Sunday, churches perform the same ritual. There's singing, some announcements, and a word from the preacher. And, undoubtedly, the same complaints reemerge. The sermon was too long, too boring, too unrelatable, etc.With declining church attendance across the Western world, one has to wonder what the church can do. Are our sermons no longer touching the lives of the congregants? Is there something we can do to reshape how we see preaching and the spoken word? Here to guide us on his own journey into a new way of preaching is Dr. Mark Glanville: Old Testament scholar, preacher, podcaster, and jazz musician. For more from Dr. Glanville, go to https://www.markglanville.org/

The book of Revelation has sparked no shortage of debate and intrigue. Who is the Beast/antichrist? What is the Mark of the Beast? Is the book an outline of events that are soon to take place?But is it possible that we have gotten the book wrong entirely? Is the book not a roadmap of the future but something far more relevant to the here and now?Here to help us decode this mysterious piece of literature is Dr. Shane J. Wood, whose new book, Thinning the Veil, attempts to pierce the interpretive haze that has surrounded Revelation for millennia. You can find out more about his book at https://www.shanejwood.com/.

1+1+1=...1? According to Christian teaching, God is three persons... but there is only one God. How does that make any sense? It is easily one of the great mysteries of the faith, yet it is one Christians have still ceaselessly tried to solve. Is there a way to make sense of it? Or are we fated to never understand this central point of Christian teaching?Here to give his radical take is our host Jonathan, whose book MonoThreeism attempts to, once and for all, end the conversation and say, yes, the Trinity is nonsense, but it is also... true? If you're as confused as I am, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

The world of quantum physics is a strange one, but it is becoming increasingly popular with the recent Marvel movies. In this episode, we explore the possible implications of quantum physics on spirituality. Specifically, we decided to shake things up a bit and have Allan Furic, a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, speak to the strange alignment between the thought of quantum physicist David Bohm and certain aspects of Buddhism. It's as weird and wacky of an episode as you'll see from us!

In the first of its kind on our show, we have a (friendly) debate with Paul Williams, the host of Blogging Theology and prominent Muslim apologist. We argue whether the New Testament (particularly the earlier documents) can tell us whether or not Jesus saw Himself as divine.

Another US election, and everyone is back to arguing! But mixed in with these discussions are questions about Christianity and the role of the church in politics. Bishop Budde just made the news over her comments to President Trump. Vice President Vance has appealed to theordo amoris in his politics. It seems the question of church-state relations is more relevant than ever, but what is the right approach? How should Christians react to politics? Is it right to try and push Christian agendas? Or should we leave our faith out of the ballot box?

A lot has been going on in the news, but plenty of stories may have gone under your radar. On this second episode of In The News, we cover everything from the future of robotics, the TikTok ban, and whether or not alcohol is actually healthy for you (!). All that and much more as we plow our way through the lesser-known headlines!

In this episode, we look at the fascinating friendship of two of history's greatest fiction authors. In our interview with Oxford scholar Michael Ward, we look at how Tolkien led Lewis to Christianity, the impact the two had on one another's thoughts and writings, and many more topics on the two most famous Inklings.

Happy 2025 (almost)! We're taking our normal holiday break, but this time, we're leaving you with a short filler episode that has some good banter and exciting updates on our next episode.

When you look into the night sky, it can sometimes be tough not to think that there is a designer to it all. And, as it turns out, it is not just Christians who have thought this. The design argument, an apologetic argument that seeks to show God's existence from evidence for design, has had a long history in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. What do these other faiths have to say? Are they much different from Christianity's claims? And are they convincing? Here to help us through this issue are Erkki Rope Kojonen and Shoaib Malik who have just published a new, groundbreaking book on this very topic!

While in our last episode, we talked about who the spiritual but not religious are, this episode we tackle what we, as a church, ought to do about it. Is there anything we can learn from this movement? Or should we see it as something completely hostile to Christianity?

The West is rapidly losing its religion, but strangely, that does not mean it is losing its belief in the supernatural. In fact, such beliefs are as common as ever. The "Spiritual but not Religious" subgroup has quickly become one of the biggest and fastest-growing groups in the US and other Western nations. But who are they? What do they believe? And where did this trend come from? In this episode, we discuss (in obsessive detail) the origins and common threads surrounding the Spiritual but not Religious.

Election season is here! And it is just as heated as ever. The past two elections, evangelicals have overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump. However, we recently heard from Jim Wallis, Obama's spiritual advisor, why this is misguided. Is he correct? Here to give the case for voting for Donald Trump is R. R. Reno, editor of the journal First Things. According to him, Trump is a symptom of something much, much deeper and important that needs to be reclaimed in our country. Be sure to give both episodes a listen and let us know which side you think won!

We're back with our third annual Halloween episode! This year we tackle the strange world of mediums, psychics, telepathy, and beyond as we interview R. Alan Streett, a professor of theology at Criswell College and author of the new book Exploring the Paranormal: Miracles, Magic, and the Mysterious. Streett has been a believer and practitioner of mediumship, an ardent skeptic, and everything in-between. Join us as he gives his life story and helps us come to a conclusion of what Christians should believe about these perplexing phenomena

The election is just around the corner, and many Christians are perplexed by their options. While most white Evangelicals prefer Trump, the question of his moral character consistently plagues him, and, indeed, many wonder how God's church can support a man who consistently attacks and demeans various people. Are Christians wrong to side with Trump so heavily? Here to argue they are is Jim Wallis, a renowned theologian and former advisor to Barack Obama. PART 2 will include the opposite case: that Christians ought to support Trump. Be sure to check out this podcast in the coming days for that episode!

Read the title. That's all you get.

We've talked a lot about science on this podcast and even touched on the supposed warfare between science and religion. However, today we have the honor of bringing on an expert to help us parse through the supposed conflict. Derrick Peterson, author of the acclaimed Flat Earths and Fake Footnotes, is here to set us straight on where the conflict really lies and how we have massively misunderstood the history of both these fields. Be sure to access the full episode (plus two free university courses) for only $5 a month here!

The problem of evil is the toughest question Christians can face, and the Holocaust is perhaps the most glaring and incomprehensible example of evil ever committed. How ought Christians handle the reality of such blatant wickedness? Does the reality of such a grotesque act say something about the God who presumably allowed it to happen? Should it challenge our conception of God and God's place in the world? We discuss these questions and much more on this episode! And for much more from us, check out our Patreon page here!

We've all been told that certain beliefs are "essential" for being a Christian, whereas others are not quite as important. Yet while we can usually agree on this, there seems to be no consensus on what these "essential beliefs" truly are. In fact, disagreements on these topics are the cause of many (if not most) church splits. Is there any way to know which beliefs are truly essential? What must we believe to be Christians, and what should be the standard for fellowship? Here to help us sort through this thorny topic is Andy Nichols, an expert on the early church and church unity.

C. S. Lewis is one of the most respected and famous Christians of the past century. He is one of the few authors with near universal love and praise from Evangelical circles, in particular. However, many of Lewis's beliefs would be considered odd (or perhaps even heretical) by many within the church today. What are these beliefs? And what are we to make of the fact that they come from one of the heroes of the faith? Here to guide us through this sticky issue is Dr. Jahdiel Perez, who has recently secured a doctorate from Oxford on Lewis's thoughts and beliefs.

Once an unknown range in the middle of Utah, the place known as Skinwalker Ranch has been catapulted into fame over the past two decades. The subject of a decade-long research project partly funded by the US government, the ranch is now home to a scientific investigation that has become one of the most popular documentary series on television ("The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch"). Why spend so much attention on such a relatively innocuous place? In short, the ranch is sometimes credited with being the most active paranormal spot in the country (and perhaps in the world). The hundreds of testimonies, some from scientists, government officials, and military officers, attest that there's something deeply unusual about this place. It's time we take our chance to figure it out.

Yes, we finally went there. In the most incorrect of Spiritually Incorrect episodes, we bring on a chaplain from the Global Order of Satan, a branch of Satanism, to talk about what Satanists actually believe and practice and what bits of it are just Hollywood fiction and relics of the Satanic panic from the 1980s. This is definitely an episode you don't want to miss! Exclusive Offer: For our $5 and up Patreon subscribers, you now have access to a free university course taught by Jonathan called "The History of Christian Thought"! And if you're not a subscriber, join in the fun at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=82501095.

As violence erupts around the world, many are feeling more unsettled now than ever. And one conflict at the forefront of many's attention is the war in Gaza. For some, it's just one more example of religions causing divisions and violence that would otherwise not exist. It joins a long list that includes the medieval Crusades, Witch Hunts, and the Wars on Terror. But how true is this? Are religions inherently violent, and would the world be more peaceful without them? To quote John Lennon's famous song, if there were no religions, would we all just live for today? Helping us dissect this myth is Dr. William Cavanaugh, one of the world's leading theologians and experts on the history of religion and warfare.

Special Giveaway: For all $5 a month Patreon subscribers, you now have free access to Jonathan's book Monothreeism: An Absurdly Arrogant Attempt to Answer All the Problems of the Last 2000 Years in One Night at a Pub! Euthanasia, the act of ending someone's life in hopes of sparing them further pain and misery, has become an increasingly common practice in Western nations. Already, nations like The Netherlands, Canada, and Australia have programs for carrying it out. But despite its name meaning "good death," is euthanasia morally acceptable? Or have we gone one step too far when we intentionally kill people, even those who are suffering pain and disease? Here to help us wrestle with the issue is Prof. Margaret Somerville, whose decades of work at McGill and Notre Dame Australia have been at the forefront of the debate.

With November rapidly approaching, it's everyone's (least) favorite time of year... political season. Most of us are already tired of the constant ads, the infighting, and the nonstop social media disputes. And even among Christians, we can never seem to agree. But what did Jesus teach us about politics? Did He have certain positions that we have ignored? Would he have voted Republican or Democrat? To help us answer these questions, we have Dr. Mark Moore, an expert on the topic and a New Testament scholar. And DON'T FORGET! Our Patreon subscribers get access to the full interview plus tons of free content (including a free university course on Eastern religions). Check it out for only $5 a month at spirituallyincorrectpodcast.com!

We're constantly bombarded with bad news about the environment. Another species has been declared extinct... Another natural disaster blamed on changing temperatures... How much of it is true? And should we, the church, care? If the world is ultimately going to end, why care too much about it? Or is this mentality wrong? On today's episode, we tackle the ever-controversial topic of environmentalism with Prof. Bethany Sollereder!

While most Christians obviously assume Jesus knew who He was, it may surprise them to learn that many (if not most) New Testament scholars debate about this. And even assuming Jesus did know this, when did He learn it? Did He come out of the womb with this knowledge or learn it along the way? How? Here to help us through these difficult questions is Dr. Austin Stevenson, who has recently written on the topic.

Outside of Jesus, Siddhartha Gautama, better known as "The Buddha," is perhaps the most revered spiritual figure in history. Indeed, even many Christians have come to admire and revere the teachings attributed to this mysterious figure. But what did he actually teach? And what are we to make of the enormous religion that remains his greatest legacy? On today's episode, we invite Dr. Tyler McNabb to help us wrestle through the teachings of Buddhism and the enigmatic sage who supposedly taught the way to Enlightenment.

When talking about God, angels, etc., you may sometimes hear it described as a "spiritual/higher dimension". In fact, authors such as Billy Graham and C. S. Lewis used just such language. It's an interesting description, but what does it mean? Are there other dimensions? Are they like the three dimensions of space we have only... more? Where did this talk come from? Joining us today is Dr. Christopher White, an expert on the origin of and conversation around higher dimensions and their relationship to Christian faith.

War. Disease. Famine. No, I'm not talking about the evening news (though I easily could be). These are the supposed signs of the end of the world. Yet many Christians believe that before it gets too bad, the church will be raptured and taken away from the world. The idea of the Rapture and the Apocalypse has gained pop cultural attention through the Left Behind series and an uncountable number of books claiming to interpret the prophecies of Revelation. Yet according to many biblical scholars, we may have gotten it wrong. In fact, the majority now believe the Bible teaches something completely different. Here with us today is Dr. Shane Wood, a scholar on the book of Revelation, to help clear up this most unusual book and discover just how the world will really end.

Does God really get angry? Upset? Horrified? If so, is God's emotional life less than perfect? How, then, can we call God perfect? If God doesn't feel these emotions, why does Scripture portray Him this way? Can we truly figure out what sort of emotions God feels? According to our guest, Dr. Ryan Mullins, we can. Join us in this episode for our deep dive into the emotional life of God!

You have questions; we have answers. We can't promise they're good ones, but on this episode, we take your questions and give our best (off-the-cuff) responses!

We've spent plenty of time discussing the evidence for the Christian faith on Spiritually Incorrect. Still, we would be lying if we said Christians were the only ones attempting to use reason and evidence to support their faith. Islam, the world's second-largest religion, has marshalled its own intellectuals to the task of defending the core tenets of the religion. What are their arguments? With Islam becoming an ever-increasing presence in the West, understanding this faith tradition and its claims is becoming increasingly important, and here to help us through this topic is Dr. Shoaib Malik, one of the world's foremost scholars on Islam and science.

Near-death experiences (or NDEs) have become something of a sensation as of late. While virtually no one knew about them just a few decades ago, now we know a huge number of people who have come close to death have experienced them. Even mainstream science is now being forced to take them seriously. But should Christians take them seriously? And while a good percentage of them are generally positive, there are quite a few that... aren't. Are people really experiencing Hell and living to tell the tale? On today's podcast, we bring on Jimmy Akin, host of the famed Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World, to help us wrestle through this perplexing topic. To see more from Jimmy Akin, visit https://jimmyakin.com/

Does God exist? And can we prove it? Apologetics is the field of study that attempts to prove the central claims of the Christian faith, and for centuries, it has offered arguments for God's existence. How successful have they been? In this episode, we rank the most famous arguments for (and one against) God's existence. And for our Patreon subscribers, you get over twice the content! Check out an entirely separate episode debating these separate arguments!

One of the more common Christian slogans you might see plastered upon shirts, bracelets, or other paraphernalia is "Make Heaven Crowded." A nice thought, to say the least! But if that should be our ambition, shouldn't it be God's, as well? If God wants all people to be saved, why aren't they? Why isn't heaven not just crowded... but overcrowded? For a select but growing number of theologians, the answer is that, yes, it will be! Universalism is a position that has seen a recent resurgence, even among Evangelicals, and holds that everyone will (eventually) come to know Christ and be redeemed, though some might have to go through Hell (literally) to get there. And here to defend the position is Dr. Robin Parry, one of the world's foremost experts and defenders of the position. His book, The Evangelical Universalist, was the title that helped to revitalize the position, though it was one he had to publish anonymously at first due to the provocative nature of the subject! Hear about this and much more on the final episode of our Rethinking Hell series!

A brief update from us for Years' End!

Hell is the absence of God's presence... right? Many are taught that. It seems to make sense, to some degree. If we reject God, He rejects us. But is that what the Bible actually teaches? Here with us today to offer a startling and Biblically-founded model of Hell is Dr. Zachary Manis. He suggests that Hell isn't caused by God's absence but by God's presence! If that sounds astonishing, confusing, or interesting in the slightest, this is the episode for you.

Hell is likely the least favorite topic of most Christians. It's often times considered one of the hardest doctrines to swallow. The idea of an eternity of misery separated from God seems horrendous, so it's no wonder we often like to avoid it. But there is a certain segment of Christians who believe we have gotten Hell wrong. In fact, they think the Bible portrays a very different image of Hell. Hell, they argue, isn't a place of unending suffering but simply nonexistence. In other words, the fate of the unredeemed is less like Dante's Inferno and more like just ceasing to exist altogether. Here to defend this view from a Biblical standpoint is Chris Date, one of the foremost defenders of the view often called Annihilationism.

Purity culture. It's one of the most divisive topics you can bring up. For many Christians, it is a bastion of hope against the sex-crazed state of our pop culture and college campuses. For others, it has been repressive and harmful to youth, and the horror stories are everywhere to be found. Some now even claim it isn't even a truly Christian sexual ethic. So which is it? Is purity culture a good thing with some fixable quirks? Or is it something that is so fundamentally flawed that it ought to be abandoned altogether? In the first of its kind, Seth and Jonathan each defend both sides of the issue. If you're wanting an answer one way or the other, you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for a nuanced and deep take in an entertaining form, this is the episode for you.

Happy Halloween! It's the best time of year for Spiritually Incorrect since we love to cover topics ranging from the bizarre to the paranormal. And this year, we have a special treat for you: Joining us is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Deborah Blum to discuss the topic of ghosts and the supposed scientific evidence the top scientists in the world gathered at the dawn of the 20th century. While nearly forgotten today, there was a time when the study of ghosts was a serious academic discipline, and the results they came up with were... astonishing. If you don't want your beliefs to be challenged, please consider skipping this episode. For the rest of you, buckle up.

Purity culture once dominated the American church scene, and the book at its center was I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. Now, over 25 years later, Joshua and Shannon, his wife, have divorced. Joshua has renounced Christianity, and, most recently, Shannon has released a new, different perspective, in a book called The Woman They Wanted, giving us a behind-the-scenes view of what really went on in their church and their marriage. Now, in an exclusive interview, we talk to Shannon to hear all the hard truths of what really happened and what we can learn from the whole affair. This is an episode you cannot miss!!!

Without a doubt, the subject of ghosts is an insanely popular one. Shows, movies, and ghost tours are a billion-dollar industry. But it's all fun and games. None of this has any basis in reality, right? According to a new study, there may be something to it. Believe it or not, over 4 in 10 Evangelicals believe they have been contacted by a dead relative over the past year. And that number is below the overall percentage of the population. What are we to make of this? Is contacting the dead real? Is it something we ought to pursue? Just in time for Halloween, we tackle the question of ghosts and how communication with the other side touches on our faith.

We all love a good story. We watch movies, listen to friends talk about their last vacation, or listen to podcasts (this one included) just to hear an entertaining and provocative tale. But one story trumps them all: the story of how we have arrived at our modern world. With technology evolving every year, drugs lessening the effects of illness, and possibilities undreamt of just a few decades ago, it's easy to imagine that the story of how we got here is one of triumph. We've conquered the stone age, overcome every obstacle, and now the march of progress of inevitable. Yet with lessening resources, dying environments, and threats of war and crises flavoring every news broadcast, it's time to ask, is the story we tell ourselves real? Or have we been lying to ourselves the whole time? Are we really progressing? Here to help us through this tricky issue is Dr. Ryan McDermott, who runs the Genealogies of Modernity project. If you've ever felt not at home in the modern world, this is the episode for you.

In the first of its kind, Jonathan and Seth investigate some of the top news stories that have likely gone under your radar. With their normal irreverent attitude, they dissect some of the most important events through a theological and philosophical lens. One part humor, another part cutting critique of the modern world, it's an episode you won't want to miss. This episode includes: -Congressional hearings on UFO retrieval programs -Invasion of the self-driving car -Confessions of an ex-churchgoer -The rise of homeschooling -Much, much more!

While psychedelics seemed to have had their heyday in the 1970s, when hippies and the counterculture were all the rage, they now appear to be having a remarkable comeback. However, unlike the 70s, this revolution is being felt not just by the common person but also within the hallowed halls of academia. Psychedelic research is bigger than ever, and it's revealing some remarkable things. Could it be that these experiences, which often lead people to believe in the religious and supernatural, actually have some truth to them? Here to help us through this thorny issue is Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie, an expert on both theology and the research into these drugs.

We've all heard it before: God in the Old Testament just seems to be a different character than the one portrayed by Jesus. In the New Testament, God is loving, patient, and forgiving. In the Old, He sometimes appears vindictive, violent, and remarkably harsh. He commands the destruction of nations, kills countless people, and even floods the earth. How do we reconcile the two images of God? Here to help us out with this age-old question is Dr. Matthew Lynch, who has recently published a work on the topic entitled Flood and Fury: Old Testament Violence and the Shalom of God. And, as usual, our Patreon subscribers get bonus content left out of today's interview!

Join our ⁠Patreon ⁠for the Extended Interview We do a lot of serious topics on Spiritually Incorrect, but sometimes, we like to have a little fun. And on this episode, we going to have a lot of it. But for some people, the topic of Bigfoot isn't just fun. In fact, there are many active scientists who believe the evidence warrants belief in Bigfoot. And we got to talk to one. On this week's episode, we are lucky to have Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a primate anthropologist and the world's foremost expert on Bigfoot. He's appeared in dozens of documentaries and been a part of many famous discoveries concerning our legendary hairy friend. Does Bigfoot exist? If he does, does that have any impact on our faith or our view of the world? We answer these questions and so much more on this episode!

Perhaps the most heated, contentious, and difficult topic in Western World today is the topic of abortion. For those in favor of it, it is a part of basic reproductive rights and necessary for ensuring full equality of women. For those against, it is the slaughter of unborn life on the altar of convenience. Which position is right? Stereotypically, the church has sided with the pro-life camp, and many today continue in that tradition. Dr. Calum Miller is one such person. In this second part of our two-part episode, we ask Dr. Miller to defend the stance that human life does, indeed, begin in the womb.